2008:239 - Gortagoulane, Cork

An area of archaeological potential was identified for the Ballynora to Lehenaghmore pipeline in Gortagoulane townland, c. 100m to the south of an earthwork (CO086–008). The earthwork is located on the banks of a stream and the gas pipeline was proposed to run at a higher elevation through agricultural land where no surface anomalies were observed in the course of fieldwork. A trench 120m long was excavated in the area where the pipeline ran closest to the monument and offsets were excavated to clarify anomalies.
The 1.6m-wide trench was excavated in eight segments each 8–10m long with 5m intervals. The field was in pasture at the time of the testing, but had been subject to modern cultivation. The topsoil was c. 0.4m-deep brown gritty earth which overlay stony clay subsoil. The only man-made feature revealed was a paved surface of small stones. The surface ran parallel to a modern farm laneway. The topsoil was deeper towards the eastern end of the test-trench, where depths of 0.6m were revealed. The only finds were sherds of blue and white chinaware of 19th- to mid-20th-century date.